Hickory Honorees

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The Indiana Pacers will honor the eight Indiana High School Athletic Association 2018 state basketball champions during Tuesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets during the final "Hickory Night" of the season. Continue reading to learn more about each state champion. (Note: All quotes are from The Indianapolis Star)

Four girls state championships were earned on February 24 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, including one school winning their first state championship in any sport and an unranked team winning their first girls basketball state title.

Class A: Marquette Catholic 38, Vincennes Rivet 31
Top-ranked Marquette Catholic came out on top between the battle of the top two ranked teams in Class A, defeating Vincennes Rivet 38-31. In their victory, Marquette Catholic set a Class A State Championship record for points allowed with 31.

The victory caps off a dominant season for Marquette Catholic, who finished with a record of 27-2. They locked down Vincennes Rivet all game long, only allowing them to shoot 17.4 percent from the field in the game.

Class 2A: Central Noble 46, Winchester Community 42
Central Noble took home their first state championship in any sport by defeating Winchester Community, 46-42. They managed to overcome a six-point halftime deficit to take home the title.

Central Noble, who is coached by Josh Treesh, was able to keep pressure on Winchester Community throughout the game, helping them get 10 steals and 12 points off turnovers.

Class 3A: Northwestern 63, Greensburg 42
Northwestern earned their first girls basketball state title by taking down Greensburg, 63-42. Their dominant championship game caps off a season that featured only one loss.

Kathie Layden, Northwestern's head coach, took home her fourth state title and said that intensity was key to Northwestern's victory.

"We played the way we have all season long," Layden said, "We shared the ball, we were aggressive on defense and we rebounded well."

Class 4A: Warren Central 50, Zionsville 46

Warren Central capped off the girls championship with their first girls basketball state title, defeating Zionsville 50-46. The game was tied at 39 with 6:03 left to play, but Warren Central was able to gain an edge and close out the victory.
They came into the game unranked and trailed by one entering the fourth quarter, but Stacy Mitchell, the team's head coach, said that didn't deter them.

"We stayed poised and kept it together," Mitchell said. "When they made a run, we didn't succumb to the run mentally. This is something they can never take away from them."

On March 24, four schools took home their first boys state basketball titles, including a school that won their first state title in any sport and another that completed a sweep of the boys and girls state championships this season.

Morristown opened the day with a blowout, defeating Southwood 89-60. In total, 10 Class A State Championship records were set in the game, with five of those set by Morristown. Those records include Morristown's record for most points scored with 89.

Morristown dominated the glass in the game, grabbing 51 rebounds to Southwood's 29. They also moved the ball much better than Southwood, dishing out 25 assists to Southwood's 12. Head Coach Scott McClelland said that's just part of the team's identity.

"It's a product of who this team is," McClelland said. "They've shared the ball all year long."

Oak Hill closed out the morning session with their first boys basketball state title, defeating Forest Park 56-44. The game was a defensive struggle throughout, as both teams struggled to score.

Oak Hill was able to get an edge by forcing turnovers, as Forest Park coughed up the rock 20 times. They were able to capitalize on those mistakes by tallying 16 points off turnovers. Fifteen of those turnovers came in the second half and helped Oak Hill put away Forest Park.

Class 3A: Culver Academies 64, Evansville Bosse 49

The evening session opened with Culver Academies winning the first state championship in any sport in school history. They defeated Evansville Bosse, 64-49. The state championship game got off to a scorching start for Culver Academies, as they jumped out to a 30-8 lead early in the second quarter.

They never relinquished that lead, staying in front for over 28 minutes of game time. That lead was maintained because they took advantage of Evansville Bosse's mistakes, forcing 18 turnovers and scoring 26 points off of them.

Culver Academies Head Coach Mark Galloway attributed the win to their defensive effort. "We just locked in and played really good defense," he said.

The day was capped off with its closest game as Warren Central took down Carmel 54-48 to complete their undefeated season at 32-0. The win also meant that Warren Central had captured both the boys and girls state basketball titles.

Their victory didn't come easy, as they trailed by as much as 11 in the third quarter. Warren Central Head Coach Criss Beyers said that the lead never seemed insurmountable to his team.

"It definitely helped that we've been down worse than this," Beyers said. "They've believed all year long that there is no deficit that is too much."

Warren Central finished the season as the number two ranked team in the country, according to USA TODAY high school sports.

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IHSAA Boys and Girls Basketball State Champions to Be Honored During Hickory Night

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Tony Hinkle officiated high school football games on Friday nights.

That's as good a place as any to begin when examining what's nothing less than the most unusual career in the history of American college athletics, a livelihood that spanned three sports and 49 years, and landed him in at least seven halls of fame.

Hinkle, whose legacy at Butler University will be honored by the Pacers at the next Hickory game on Sunday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, left behind records, memories and stories that will forever go unmatched. Seriously. Who else is going to coach 1,902 games for a university – 303 in football, 952 in basketball and 647 in baseball, and have a winning record in all of them? Who else is going to coach all three sports in the same academic year for 31 of those years? Who else is going to also work as athletic director for his final 39 years?

And, yes, who else would also officiate high school football games on Friday nights, just to help fill the hours?

"Isn't that crazy?" Billy Shepherd said. "He did it for years."

So many aspects of Hinkle's life and coaching career qualify as crazy by today's standards, but he wasn't. While those unfamiliar with his personality might picture him as some manic workaholic who couldn't sleep, sit down or settle into anything, he actually was a calm, collected sort who rarely raised his voice. He accomplished so much for so long by keeping things simple and not taking things too seriously.

Hinkle's took the same approach to his role as athletic director. He was said to be a "three-drawer man," who kept the budget in one drawer, schedules in another drawer and contracts in another.

Granted, Hinkle was fortunate to coach at a university that maintained an emphasis on academics and in an era – eras, really – when the public was less neurotic about outcomes. Hinkle had his down seasons, as coaches tend to do over 49 years. He had three consecutive losing seasons twice in his basketball coaching career and lost plenty of games to teams with lesser talent. But his successes overshadowed everything.

Hinkle inherited a strong program from Harlan "Pat" Page, who had coached him at the University of Chicago, and kept it rolling. His teams were a combined 112-29 over his first seven seasons and was awarded a declared national championship in 1929 after it finished 17-2 and knocked off the likes of Pittsburgh, Purdue, North Carolina, Missouri and Notre Dame. It was an honor bestowed by the Veteran Athletes of Philadelphia, but the Bulldogs were as legitimate a choice as any. The Helms Foundation voted the same recognition to Montana State.

As other conferences evolved and larger universities built facilities to compete with Butler's spacious fieldhouse, which was an attraction in itself after construction was completed in 1928, it became more difficult for Hinkle's teams to compete on a national scale. Although playing in small-school conferences, or at times no conference at all, Hinkle always scheduled home and road series with Big Ten Conference schools and other major programs. In his final decade of coaching, his teams defeated Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue, as well as third-ranked Michigan in the 1965-66 season.

Butler played in the NIT in 1958, a big enough deal that the team received a send-off from a band and hundreds of well-wishers. It lost in the first round to St. John's at Madison Square Garden. The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1962 when it consisted of a 25-team field. They defeated an eighth-ranked Bowling Green team led by future Naismith Hall of Famer Nate Thurmond in the opening round to reach the Sweet Sixteen. They lost to Kentucky, then followed by defeating Western Kentucky in a regional consolation game.

Hinkle's accomplishments came despite a sane, somewhat passive recruiting approach. He recruited just two Indiana Mr. Basketballs, Bobby Plump and Shepherd, and got them without fuss.

One of his pitches to Shepherd came after officiating a high school game at Carmel. Shepherd, a 5-foot-10 guard with exceptional shooting and passing skills, had offers from the likes of Indiana, Purdue, UCLA, North Carolina and Florida heading into his senior season, but also was considering Butler. His father, Bill, had played for Hinkle 20 years earlier, and staying close to home appealed to him.

Shepherd's father took him to meet Hinkle in the officials' locker room after the game.

"By the way, kid, what size shoe do you wear?" Hinkle asked at one point.

Shepherd, thinking he might be getting a free pair of shoes, answered: "Nine-and-a-half, Mr. Hinkle."

"Well, we've got that size at Butler," Hinkle said.

Shepherd chose Butler the following Spring, over Indiana.

Plump got his pitch via mail after leading Milan to its historic state championship in 1954. The letter Hinkle wrote can be viewed in a display case at The Fieldhouse today. Plump had offers from more than 30 colleges, including Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, Cincinnati and Tennessee. Rather than putting on a fullcourt press, Hinkle asked him to call to set up an appointment to meet. Plump did and arrived at Hinkle's office one May afternoon at the scheduled time.

Hinkle was nowhere to be found, however. Underwhelmed and a bit confused, Plump was rescued in the hallway by Butler's sports publicist, Jack Shackelford, who led him to the baseball diamond. There, Hinkle was picking dandelions out of the infield and stuffing them into his pocket.

"Hey, kid, I'll be with you in a little bit," Hinkle said.

Although they could have gone to major programs and competed for national championships, or to schools that would have rewarded them generously under the table, neither Plump nor Shepherd regret their decisions. The experience of playing for Hinkle was reward enough, although Shepherd only got to play in Hinkle's final season.

Story: 10 Things to Know About Coach Hinkle »

They recall intense but enjoyable practices that focused on their own fundamentals rather than the opponent's tendencies, competitive games against major conference opponents and an experience that didn't make college basketball feel like a life or death proposition.

Hinkle wasn't a screamer or profane, but had ways of getting points across without berating or embarrassing a player. The strongest term he ever used was a certain synonym for a male donkey, but had to be really angry to dig that deep into his vocabulary.

Plump's coach at Milan, Marvin Wood, had played for Hinkle – as did so many of Indiana's high school coaches -  and utilized Hinkle's famed five-way system that emphasized passing and cutting. Wood often told the story of how one day in practice Wood had missed an open cutter and shot the ball.

"Woods! I know a blind man who would like to have those eyes!" Hinkle shouted.

"Marvin said he never missed a cutter after that," Plump recalled.

Plump, who finished his career as Butler's all-time leading scorer, got a gentler admonishment after a game at Indiana State. He had roomed with Arley Andrews during the annual two-game all-star series with Kentucky after their high school careers, and become friends. When Andrews fouled out of the game, Plump offered a handshake. When he reached the locker room after the game, Hinkle had written – or had someone else write – "It is not necessary to shake an opponent's hand during the game."

Shepherd, who still holds Butler's record for single-season (27.8) and career (26.3) scoring averages, got Hinkle's points in red ink. The morning after every game, Hinkle taped the box score with various stats circled in red ink – the ones Hinkle thought needed improvement – to a board.

Shepherd, the team's best shooter, never got a red circle for his field goal attempts no matter how many he took, while another player - a poor shooter - might get one for taking five shots. Shepherd did get circles for his turnovers, though. As one of the primary ballhandlers and a skilled passer who occasionally attempted behind-the-back or needle-threading darts, he amassed his share of them.

Shepherd also earned possession of a less-than-coveted trophy that Hinkle distributed after every game to the player with the most turnovers, early in his sophomore season. That point got across, too, and he played more carefully.

Hinkle utilized practical jokes, too. Shepherd recalls a freshman game at Wabash – first-year players couldn't play for the varsity at the time – when he unintentionally threw a pass off the dribble that hit an unsuspecting defender in the face.  The official called a technical foul on Shepherd, who reacted emotionally.

The next day, Shepherd was in the training room at The Fieldhouse getting his ankles taped when trainer Jim Morris gave him a slip of paper with a telephone number on it.

It turned out to be a direct line to Indiana High School Athletic Association commissioner Phil Eskew, a towering figure on the state's athletic scene.

"I understand you were trying to officiate basketball games without a license," Eskew told Shepherd.

Hinkle and his assistant coach, Bob Dietz, then walked into the office to complete the point.

Hinkle also was notoriously cheap. Even in his final season as coach, his team bused to most road games, and did so on the day of the game whenever possible. Their "meal" for the ride home was a pre-wrapped ham or turkey sandwich and a warm can of 7-Up. Hinkle got the drinks for free because of his relationship with a woman connected to a local 7-Up distributor. For some games, if it was convenient, they might have splurge and stop at a McDonald's on the way home for a sandwich – but still had to settle for the warm can of 7-Up.

Hinkle was more generous when Butler played in the NIT in New York City during Plump's senior season. After its seven-point loss to St. John's, Hinkle gathered the players back at the hotel

"Fellas, I want you to have a great time in New York," Hinkle said. "It might be the first time you've been here, so you ought to see the sights. Mr. Dietz will give you some money as you leave the room."

"He didn't want us to have too good of a time, though," Plump said. "Each player got $5."

And that was adjusted for inflation. Dietz, who had been an All-American player for Hinkle in the early Forties, told Plump the per diem had been $2 per player on their trips to New York.

A college education and good memories are priceless, however. Plump, Shepherd and virtually all the hundreds of athletes who played for Hinkle would tell you they were compensated fairly by the mere experience of playing for him.

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Mark Montieth's book, "Reborn: The Pacers and the Return of Pro Basketball to Indianapolis," covers the formation and early seasons of the franchise. It is available at retail outlets throughout Indiana and online at sources such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

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Hinkle and His Career Were One of a Kind

With the Pacers honoring the legendary Butler coach Tony Hinkle during Sunday's Hickory Night against the New York Knicks, here are 10 things to know about Hinkle's life and legacy.

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10 Things to Know About Tony Hinkle

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In 1989, Chris Denari — who is now known for being FOX Sports Indiana's play-by-play voice of the Pacers — took a job with Butler University as the school's first-ever Sports Marketing Director. Working in the athletic department, Denari often crossed paths with the legendary coach Tony Hinkle, who had been retired since 1970 but still had an office and was around the program frequently.

Hinkle joined Butler in 1921, working as a teacher, athletic administrator, and a coach. But unlike most coaches of today, Hinkle oversaw multiple sports, leading the basketball, baseball, and football teams to success. Hinkle's impact on Butler was so profound, the legendary fieldhouse was re-named the Hinkle Fieldhouse in 1966. Four years later, Hinkle retired from coaching, having led the basketball team for 41 seasons.

Hickory Central: Head to Pacers.com/Hickory »

Coach Hinkle passed away in 1992. For Denari, getting a chance to observe Hinkle and get to know him during their three years of overlap at Butler left an impactful impression.

What was your day-to-day interaction with Hinkle like? What impression did he make on you?

Denari: He would come in every day with a coat and tie on, he looked like he was coming in ready for work. He was older when I as there in the late 1980s and early '90s, but I had a chance to talk to him. You were sort of in awe of being in the building that was named after him and you know how much he had accomplished in his career. I mean he was the basketball coach, he was the baseball coach, he was the athletic director. He was the do-it-all man of Butler. You knew that you were sort of there to carry on and build on the tradition that he had built, and you took pride in that.

It seems like Butler is always punching above its weight on the national stage. Do you consider that part of Hinkle's legacy?

I do think that was important. If you look at what they've instituted now, The Butler Way, (Athletic Director) Barry Collier sort of brought it back to the forefront when he became the basketball coach and he's the Athletic Director now but you're right. That really started in the days of Tony Hinkle, getting athletes to play above their grade if you will. To compete at the highest level, because if you go back to the 1920s and '30s and the '40s, here's Butler, this small private school back in the day playing Notre Dame, Purdue, and Indiana, and other various institutions around the country and they were not like those other schools. So you have to think that was kind of born in those early years and carried to fruition with coach Hinkle.

Do you think it's possible that there will ever be a modern version of Coach Hinkle, who coaches multiple Division I teams?

Probably not, I just don't think that can exist anymore, especially at the Division I level because everything is so specialized now and there is so much focus on each individual sports that I think it would very difficult for somebody to do what Tony Hinkle did all those years ago. If you think about what he did it almost borders on impossible, but he was somebody that could take on the challenge and be very successful with the challenge.

When you were at Butler, would coaches and players come by his office to pick his brain?

It was funny because he parked right by the side door that is looking over the Butler Bowl and he would walk right into his office. And he would drive in every day and there were people that would stop by his office. He called everybody "kid." Didn't matter how old you were, and there were so many people. Bill Sylvester was the longtime Athletic Director at Butler, he was there when I started, and he had a great history with coach Hinkle because he had been there as an athlete back in the day when Tony Hinkle was the coach. There were a lot of people when I had first gotten there to work that had had great relationships with him, because they had been there as coaches with him and they had been there as players or student athletes with him.

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Q&A: Chris Denari on Crossing Paths with Tony Hinkle

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John Wooden's Life of Basketball

INDIANAPOLIS – Coaching icons John Wooden and Tony Hinkle, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and its home city of New Castle, and the 2018 IHSAA boys and girls state championship teams will be the 2017-18 Indiana Pacers Hickory Night honorees, the Pacers announced today.

The Pacers also will wear new white Hickory jerseys on the Hickory Nights at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, as well as during road games against the Los Angeles Lakers (Jan. 19), Boston (March 11), Philadelphia (March 13) and the Los Angeles Clippers (April 1). The white Hickory uniform, the Nike Classic Edition, is a modern take on the white uniforms of Hickory High as worn in the 1987 cinematic classic Hoosiers. This is the fourth new uniform unveiled by the Pacers for the 2017-18 season.

PHOTO GALLERY: See the Hickory Uniforms Up Close »

This will be the third season of Hickory Nights recognizing legendary Indiana teams, coaches, players and cities while commemorating Hoosiers. Previous honorees have included Crawfordsville, the birthplace of Indiana basketball; Indiana high school's all-time leading boys scorer Damon Bailey; Indiana’s first Miss Basketball Judi Warren and state championship teams from Marion, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis Washington and Milan, whose 1954 state title inspired the film.

PACERS.COM/HICKORY: More Info on Hickory, Tickets, Etc. »

Dates for this year's Hickory Nights and the honorees are:

Friday, Nov. 17, Pacers vs. Detroit: The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame and the City of New Castle. As home to the Hall of Fame and Chrysler Fieldhouse, the world's largest high school gymnasium (capacity 9,325), and the annual holiday Hall of Fame Classic, New Castle occupies a special place in Hoosier basketball history. New Castle also produced basketball All-Americans Vern Huffman, Kent Benson and Steve Alford, currently the head coach at UCLA.

Monday, Jan. 8, Pacers vs. Milwaukee: John Wooden. Wooden first excelled as a player at Martinsville High School and Purdue University, where he was a three-time All-American. His coaching career began in South Bend, moved to Indiana State University and then to ULCA, where the "Wizard of Westwood" guided the Bruins to 10 NCAA national championships in 12 years. His Pyramid of Success is a staple for both basketball and life.

Sunday, Feb. 11, Pacers vs. New York: Paul D. "Tony" Hinkle. A native of Logansport, the revered Hinkle, a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, coached basketball, football and baseball at Butler for nearly a half century while also serving as athletic director. The Hinkle "coaching tree" of former players and assistants remains a presence throughout Indiana and Butler's iconic fieldhouse is named in his honor.

Tuesday, April 10, Pacers vs. Charlotte: IHSAA State Champions. The Pacers' regular season-ending game will include the recognition of the four girls and four boys IHSAA State Champions, continuing a Hickory Nights tradition.

"We are excited to continue with Hickory Pacers Nights for the 2017-18 season. The platform allows us to recognize the people and places that have made the game of basketball synonymous with the state of Indiana," said Todd Taylor, chief marketing officer for Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

Fans can learn more about Hickory Nights, the new Nike uniforms and also secure tickets to Hickory Nights and all other Pacers homes games at Pacers.com/Hickory.